Syrian planes drop leaflets to rebels

Government urges surrender in battle for road

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An opposition fighter took a defensive position in the old city of Aleppo on Wednesday. Rebels have accessed more powerful weaponry, probably from Qatar and Saudi Arabia.

By Diaa Hadid
Associated Press
July 04, 2013

BEIRUT — Syrian government aircraft scattered leaflets over the northern city of Idlib on Wednesday demanding that rebels surrender, as the two sides battled for control of a highway the regime uses to transport weapons from a coastal stronghold to its troops fighting in opposition-held areas in the north.

The battle for the highway leading from the mountainous Latakia province along the Mediterranean coast into the neighboring province of Idlib is crucial to rebel efforts to retain control of the villages and towns they hold.

They dynamited a highway bridge near the city of Jisr al-Shughour and demolished other parts of the road, said Fuad al-Deek, an activist via Skype, based in Idlib province. Syrian troops fired mortar shells and conducted airstrikes to try dislodge the rebels, according to the British-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which has a network of activists on the ground.

Idlib holds strategic value to the rebels because it borders Turkey, which has been a critical source of weapons shipments and other supplies. Latakia province, meanwhile, is predominantly home to members of the president’s Alawite sect, an offshoot of Shi’ite Islam.